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After almost losing his own leg, he built an app to give patients more info

Feb 01, 2017

When he was 21, Next 36 alumni Zack Fisch came close to losing his leg.

"I just didn't act on it, I didn't do anything," he said, explaining that he assumed it was part of the healing process. Unbeknownst to him, his cast had been put on too tight and he had developed something called compartment syndrome, dangerously decreasing blood flow to his leg.

"As a result of not having proper instructions as I was being prepared to leave the hospital … I almost had an amputation," he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

That was the moment he came up with the idea for his app, Dash MD, one of two entries to win CBC Toronto's 2017 pitch competition.